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Why Quit?

by Peter Welle

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about

For Joe Cimenski, my grandpa. (1925-2023)

lyrics

Half smile was as good as you gave
Slow gait and a barrel chest
No time to rest
Now I wish I could go back and save
All the small stories told
Of a big household in a tiny home in nowhere

You loved her like you knew how
Too long at work and on the road
She had to carry the load
You launched a family somehow
In command of a polka band with those big old hands

Why quit
When the work is there and your back is strong
Cause there’s a job to do
Who else would they all turn to?
Bringing them in from the cold
With the music in your heart

Couldn’t read the music you played
But you knew all the songs
Could play all night long and lift the room
Taught your boys to play the right way - throw that capo away
Because you understood it’s not a livelihood, it’s who you were

Why quit?
When the shows are there and your back is strong
When the songs are this good
When you sealed the deal with your handshake
Bringing them in from the cold with the music in your heart

On some nights you were the storm
As you fixed everything and gave everything except yourself
But you let the years transform you
Growing gray and standing tall through it all, next to her

Why quit?
Cause the work got done and the day’s been long
Cause it keeps you moving along
Cause she’s gonna leave if she don’t see it
Bringing us in from the cold with the music in your heart

Tonight it’s my turn to say
It’s okay to quit

credits

released May 4, 2023
Song by Peter Welle & Julia Welle Ayres

Vocals, guitar: Peter Welle
Piano, harmony vocals: Julia Welle Ayres

Produced by Paul Carolan & Peter Welle

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all rights reserved

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Peter Welle Minneapolis, Minnesota

Peter & his basement collaborators make songs that will break your heart and then politely clean up after themselves.

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